Largest South Korean Exchange Launches Crypto Market Indices

The largest crypto exchange in South Korea by trading volume, Bithumb, has launched two cryptocurrency market indices. One tracks all coins listed on the exchange while the other tracks only altcoins. Meanwhile, Upbit, the country’s largest crypto exchange by the number of coins listed, has two similar indices and sub-indices divided into three broad categories.

Bithumb Launches Crypto Indices

Bithumb announced Wednesday the launch of Bithumb Crypto Index (BTCI) which comprises two separate indices.

The exchange detailed:

BTCI has been developed in consideration of market representation and liquidity to provide investors with a single indicator that can show the trends of the cryptocurrency market. It consists of Bithumb Market Index (BTMI)…and Bithumb Altcoin Market Index (BTAI).

BTMI is calculated based on all cryptocurrencies listed on Bithumb while BTAI only takes into account “all non-bitcoin cryptocurrencies” listed on the exchange. The former aims to provide “an overall view of the price changes in the cryptocurrency market” while the latter “a view of the price changes in the cryptocurrency market excluding bitcoin.” Bithumb began calculating BTCI on July 1. The index is calculated real-time and updated every 10 seconds.

At the time of this writing, Bithumb is South Korea’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, according to Coinmarketcap. With 53 cryptocurrencies listed for trading against the Korean won, the exchange has a 24-hour trading volume of $726,488,270.

Upbit’s Crypto Indices

The country’s largest crypto exchange by the number of coins listed, the Kakao-backed Upbit, also has a crypto index called Upbit Cryptocurrency Index (UBCI). Launched in May, the index consists of two main indices: Upbit Market Index (UBMI) and Upbit Altcoin Index (UBAI). However, there are also over 20 sub-indices grouped into three broad categories: market, theme, and strategy.

“The index is designed to help investors grasp the movements of the cryptocurrency market at a quick glance,” Business Korea detailed at the time and quoted Lee Seok-woo, the president of Dunamu Inc. which operates Upbit, commenting:

The UBCI will become a standard in observing the whole cryptocurrency market…We will improve it in terms of technology and management to make it a representative index not only in the Korean market but in the global market.

At the time of this writing, Upbit has a 24-hour trading volume of $292,249,180, making it the second-largest crypto exchange in Korea by trading volume, according to Coinmarketcap. The exchange currently has 166 coins listed and supports 276 markets.

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